Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Texas: Five children attacked by pit bull at school; witnesses say one boy "dragged through the field" by the pit bull (presumably to take him away to eat him)

TEXAS -- Five students were attacked Tuesday afternoon by a stray pit bull during seventh-grade recess at YES Prep College School, officials said.

School officials said the dog got onto the playground on the campus in the 300 block of Crenshaw Road.

They said it happened right after lunch during seventh-grade recess, while the children were on the playground.

The dog attacked five children.

The school said they suffered minor injuries and were being treated on the campus.

Police said the dog was detained by staff members.

Emergency medical services and animal control were called to the scene.

Police said the dog was a brown pit bull.

BARC said its officer has to investigate to determine what will happen to the dog.

The children were sent home so the officer has to find them to get statements about what happened.

If the owner comes forward, the dog has to be quarantined for 10 days from the time of the bite to see if the dog has rabies.

But right now, BARC said, the dog is a stray, and its priority is the victims.

Per Texas state law, BARC said, they will euthanize the animal after 72 hours, and then send a sample to a lab. This would let them know sooner if the dog had rabies.

Right now, there are no identifiers showing the dog belongs to anybody.

Maria Hinojosa said her granddaughter saw the attack.

"Apparently, a little boy was [attacked and being] dragged through the field [by the pit bull], and the other four kids tried to run and protect him. And I think that's how the other ones got injured," Hinojosa said.